The ECHO 1 AK CPM is an extremely well designed and well built rifle that is undisputedly among the best looking AK replicas we have seen to date.

With only the pistol grip and foregrips being made of ABS, this rifle has the same metal content as the real firearm and is exceptionally solid. The receiver has a non reflective matte black finish with contrasting steel receiver pins. The stock has somewhat of a crud design, as it should since after all it is an AK, but is very rigid and does not wobble at all. The stock folds to the left and locks onto a spring loaded metal catch on the side of the receiver. With the stock folded to the left you still have access to the fire selector and can comfortably hold the rifle making better for close quarters than other AK under folders on the market.

Its battery is installed into the top of the receiver by flipping open the receiver cover and sliding the battery down through the front of the gun. The receiver cover on this rifle is actually spring loaded and hinges at the front so it is a lot easier to install the battery in this model than what you are used to doing. Also unlike other AK models which are restricted to using an 8.4v battery unless you do some serious modifications to the battery compartment of the rifle, the CPM has enough room to hold up to 12v stick type battery pack (please note that the rifle in stock form is only rated up to a 10.8v).

PLEASE NOTE: While the AK CPM is equipped with a side rail, it unfortunately is not compatible with the UTG AK Side Rail Mount (MNT-973) because the rifles rear sight gets in the way.

Once you get done drooling over the exterior of this rifle and get down to shooting it, you will soon realize that the true beauty of this rifle is more than skin deep. Inside of this rifle is an upgraded V3 gearbox which can also take Marui compatible parts. Upgrades include a high performance spring, steel gears, metal bushings, reinforced poly carbonate piston, ported poly carbonate piston head and 16 gauge wiring. Needless to say that with this amount of hardware the CPM is something you do not want to be on the receiving end of.

This is where it let me down a bit. The ROF for this thing is awful, forget 800 fps. It's really due in part to the stick battery, but hey, you don't need to hit someone 40 times to get a kill.

Weight- 8/10

A good heft to it. While nothing on my old Full metal G3 and my (upgraded w/sight and silencer) Echo 1 mp5a4 RIS, the weight is mainly shifted towards the front, which can make it unwieldy at some points, but you get used to it, and after a week or two of owning it, you're shooting like it was never front-heavy.

Outside- 10/10

Machined metal and Echo 1 and Vector arms' attention to quality is really what make this gun look amazing. This thing is a work of art in it's time, and it really will scare the sh%$ out of your friends.

Overall- 9/10

I got this gun before it came out on shortys, off of another site (sorry!) but no matter what site you get it off of, it still rocks like none other. Yeah, I know my scores don't average out a 9, but I think it deserves it all the way. A great gun for urban combat or even woodland if you feel like it.

Rock on...

Do you want to rate this review as helpful or not? You have to be logged in as a ShortyUSA Registered User!

...need a quic-weapon..gives you most of all that you need..dont want a cheap-o.. with internal plastic gears..cant even think about spending a full 250-plus ..then echo is the joint..out-the box..it's ready...if the life of airsoft is for you..then you'll gladly either take a shot on re-building..or trading in & trading up..this weapon will last you till that time..there is a little creaking..but it feels great..furniture is better than..a tm..sights line up..mine shoots a drop/right but i'll figure that out..great to be able to cheer for the echo folks..7 shortyusa....10Q...jeffer

Do you want to rate this review as helpful or not? You have to be logged in as a ShortyUSA Registered User!

Just the other day I received this gun from a friend. For the longest time I wanted to purchase an AK because my first AK (a CSI/JG AK Assailant) was misplaced, which you may find as silly if you know how big the gun is.
This gun is modeled off the AKS-74u which has made appearances in games such as Metal Gear Solid 2:Sons of Liberty and Call of Duty 4:Modern Warfare. The gun is set apart from the AK-47 by the way shots are chambered, fired, and the such, but as for looks (what you all may probably care for more, at least my friends do) the AKS-74u has a shorter front receiver with its distinct flash hider and side-folding stock.

Of course get the bad out of the way...CONS:
-Loud...Holy wow this thing is loud...and alot of the sound comes out of the barrel although you have the traditional sound coming form the gearbox. My primary is a CA AUGa2 with a King Arms Phantom Kit which has foam inserts to lower the muzzle blast sound...so this really caught me off guard. This can prolly be fixed by purchasing aftermarket parts...ideally the Angel silent piston head/cylinder head set, although I have no experience with said parts
-Plastic Foregrips and Pistolgrip...yes they are the only part on the gun not made of metal but wood would be nice...its understandable though because it keeps the cost down and this is me being nitpicky because I crave realism, even though the all black look gives it a tactical look which I also crave
-Hard to Unscrew Flash Hider...although understandable because unscrewing it shows some off some of the inner barrel, the flash hider has a lock which has to be held the whole time you unscrew or else you have to push it down to unlock after every counter-clockwise rotation
-Disassembly...Basically I have no idea how to disassemble the gun to take a look at the internals since I'm naturally curious. Not an issue for some since the gun is already pre-upgraded
-Stationary rear sight...cannot be adjusted like most AK rear sights, but its not needed really for this in my opinion...Im just nitpicking
-Wiring(?)...Could just be my gun but my semi-auto doesnt always work. When I pull the trigger I get the sound as if my battery is out of juice, but a switch to auto mode and I'm back in business...If a widespread problem its ok because I understand Echo1 is still a sorta new company and Classic Army had the same problems when they first started

And of course the good...PROS:
-Loud...yes yes it was also a con but its just so intimidating sounding. When you fire it, you just hear the sound of a metallic ring, and by metallic I really mean you can tell.
-Comes with everything needed to start off...Out of the box you see your cleaning rod, then the gun and the (stock high cap) magazine with the battery in its own little compartment, and then the charger, some bbs, and a front sight adjustment tool in a small box...this is how mine was set up
-Pre-Upgraded...Lets say you're like me and you have a friend that bought the almighty KWA Full Metal m4 Carbine and just doesnt shut up because his/her (yes, girls play airsoft) gun is pre-upgraded and is almighty. Although this gun isnt as almighty, it is still pre-upgraded, and shoots even harder for a fraction of the price
-Comes with a black mag...this is another example of me being nitpicky. With most other airsoft companies, the ak74 will come with the orange/red magazine, which to me is a tactical 'no'
-Full metal...has very nice weight to it with the exact same metal content as the real steel...but if you read the dscription you already knew that
-Spring-loaded battery compartment door...You have no idea how many times my friends and I have has issues in the past putting back on the covers to the AK stick battery compartments...this is a nice touch that makes battery placement/removal so much easier
-Logos...some of you may not know this but Vector Arms is an actual company that makes real firearms...mainly semi-auto replicas but hey, it adds to the realism...kinda ironic that the semi-auto on my gun is screwy...but anyways Echo 1 is always good with making their trademarks look somewhat legit in my opinion
-Accuracy...after shooting a bit in my backyard I shot at the pipe that led down from the roof gutter. It was about a 30 ft shot and I hit the narrow pipe (prolly 3-4 inches wide). Thats a pretty nice range for close quarters. It hit the pipe to say the least if you didnt get that impression.

Personally I love this gun and if it werent for my Steyr AUG fanboyism, this gun would probably become my new primary. Personally I prefer the look of the gun with the short 250 highcap mags, but as I said many times in this review...I'm being nitpicky

Do you want to rate this review as helpful or not? You have to be logged in as a ShortyUSA Registered User!

I received the gun today. ... I was impressed with the sturdiness of the gun. after I charged up the battery, I took it out back to shoot, and: 1st off, .2g bbs are too light for this. 2nd the accuracy on this weapon almost made me crap myself. its not really the accuracy of the sights, more just the groupings u can make with it. from 58 feet away I could shoot a group of 1.7 inches in diameter. from 132 feet away, groupings were made with 1.1 feet in diameter.

the hopup is very responsive and easy to adjust. and unlike other guns of this quality, the hopup is very consistent. it doesn't loosen and unadjust itself.

The rate of fire is definitely NOT 800. its FAR lower than that. its around 500-600. the spring's power in this is just too much for an 8.4v battery. luckily though, you can effortlessly fit up to a 12v battery in this (NOT FREAKING RECOMMENDED) i suggest you get a 9.6v stick battery with the highest amperage (MaH) possible. it will up the ROF to 950-1100.

The magazine is low quality crap, but it works. It looks and feels like just a hunk of cheap plastic. but like I said, It works. I never had a problem with it yet.

Here are the pros and cons.

Pros

1. Every part of the real gun thats metal, is metal on this.
2. Accuracy is unbelievable
3. High capacity magazine
4. Can easily take a good 9.6v battery (HIGHER THAN 9.6 IS STRONGLY NOT RECOMMENDED!!!! this is not a $300 gun it cant take more than 9.6, you will destroy the internals with more)
5. installing the battery cant be easier.
6. Muzzle Velocity is good and high (for this price and quality) and on top of that. ITS CONSISTENT
7. Hopup is very responsive, easy to adjust, and can be used to make a BB fly accurately for over 140 feet.
8.Pistol grip is very comfortable.
9. Sights are easy to use and fully adjustable.
10. Trigger is perfect. (pull weight. pull distance, etc.)
11. The few ABS parts on this gun are about about 1/6 INCHES THICK!
12. Is fully compatible with Marui and can use ALL major brand magazines and magazines that are compatible with the major brands ones.

Cons

1. ROF is pretty bad. unless you use 9.6v battery
2. Only .25 or .28 bbs are really effective in this. .2s will fly off target after about 60 feet, but with some practice, you can hit a body sized target from 100 feet away.
3. battery doesn't last long, but you should get a different one anyway (one with 9.6v)
4. magazine is low quality crap but can use just about any magazine for AKs on the market. the magazine at least works decently though.
5. No rails =/ but thats not really a problem for some.

The pros DEFINITELY outweigh the cons.
I give it a 4/5 only because I don't trust the magazine and it needs a stronger battery.

Overall the gun is good and reliable, and worth the cash. With a new battery this could easily rival all the top brands stock guns.

Hope this review helped, and good luck in the field

Do you want to rate this review as helpful or not? You have to be logged in as a ShortyUSA Registered User!

this is another great addition to echo1's products. it includes an m120, polycarb piston, polycarb pistonhead, and brass bushings!!!! thats a great buy for only $180. its range is great, power is great comin out at around 390, and the rof is around 800-850 with a 9.6v battery. great buy get this over any other echo1 ak.

((_((CRAYOLA((_((>

Do you want to rate this review as helpful or not? You have to be logged in as a ShortyUSA Registered User!

this gun is alot beter than the classic army version and what more can i say than that

well...............
alot more
this thing shoots hard me and my bro have a ritual thing, when one of us gets a new gun the other shoots us with it 2wice on semi auto at 50 feet and this one has hurt the worst out of all of my aegs but alotn less than the mk96 with a hoodie now i lube every one of my guns before i shoot it but this thing hurt BAD

Get It I Command You

Do you want to rate this review as helpful or not? You have to be logged in as a ShortyUSA Registered User!

all I can say is wow, compare to my cybergun thompsn, this is more accurate, longer range, higher mag cap, cheaper, and easier to carry around. The bad thing is it doesn't have as high FOS as the Thompson, but who cares?

Do you want to rate this review as helpful or not? You have to be logged in as a ShortyUSA Registered User!

(Listed above are the first 10 rated most helpful reviews for this item)